Skip to main content
← Back to Models
⚖️

Flux 1.1 ProvsFLUX.1 Schnell

Black Forest Labs vs Black Forest Labs — Side-by-side model comparison

Flux 1.1 Pro leads 1/5 categories

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricFlux 1.1 ProFLUX.1 Schnell
Provider
Black Forest Labs
Black Forest Labs
Arena Rank
Context Window
N/A (image)
Input Pricing
$0.04/img/1M tokens
Free (open)/1M tokens
Output Pricing
Free (open)/1M tokens
Parameters
12B
12B
Open Source
No
Yes
Best For
Image generation, design
Fast image generation, prototyping, development
Release Date
Oct 2, 2024
Aug 1, 2024

Flux 1.1 Pro

Flux 1.1 Pro, developed by Black Forest Labs, is an image generation model with 12 billion parameters built by the original team behind Stable Diffusion. The model produces high-quality images from text descriptions with excellent prompt adherence, fast generation times, and strong compositional accuracy. Founded by Robin Rombach and others who created the latent diffusion approach used in Stable Diffusion, Black Forest Labs brings deep expertise in diffusion model architecture to Flux. The model competes directly with Midjourney and DALL-E 3 on image quality while offering more flexible API-based access at approximately $0.04 per image. Flux 1.1 Pro supports various aspect ratios, styles, and use cases from photorealism to illustration. Its combination of quality, speed, and accessible API pricing has made it a popular choice for production image generation applications.

FLUX.1 Schnell

FLUX.1 Schnell, developed by Black Forest Labs, is an open-source image generation model with 12 billion parameters optimized for fast generation speed. The German word 'schnell' (fast) reflects its design priority: producing quality images in fewer inference steps than standard diffusion models. The model targets prototyping, development, and applications where generation speed outweighs maximum image quality. Free and fully open-source under the Apache 2.0 license, it can be self-hosted, fine-tuned, and integrated into custom applications without cost. FLUX.1 Schnell runs on consumer GPUs and delivers results in seconds. It has become popular in the open-source community as a fast alternative to the proprietary FLUX.1 Pro. The model demonstrates Black Forest Labs' strategy of offering both free open-source and premium commercial models across different quality-speed tradeoff points.

Key Differences: Flux 1.1 Pro vs FLUX.1 Schnell

1

FLUX.1 Schnell is open-source (free to self-host and fine-tune) while Flux 1.1 Pro is proprietary (API-only access).

2

Flux 1.1 Pro has 12B parameters vs FLUX.1 Schnell's 12B, which affects inference speed and capability.

F

When to use Flux 1.1 Pro

  • +You prefer a managed API without infrastructure overhead
  • +Your use case involves image generation, design
View full Flux 1.1 Pro specs →
F

When to use FLUX.1 Schnell

  • +You need to self-host or fine-tune the model
  • +Your use case involves fast image generation, prototyping, development
View full FLUX.1 Schnell specs →

The Verdict

Flux 1.1 Pro wins our head-to-head comparison with 1 out of 5 category wins. It's the stronger choice for image generation, design, though FLUX.1 Schnell holds an edge in fast image generation, prototyping, development.

Last compared: April 2026 · Data sourced from public benchmarks and official pricing pages

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Flux 1.1 Pro or FLUX.1 Schnell?
In our head-to-head comparison, Flux 1.1 Pro leads in 1 out of 5 categories (arena rank, context window, input pricing, output pricing, and parameters). Flux 1.1 Pro excels at image generation, design, while FLUX.1 Schnell is better suited for fast image generation, prototyping, development. The best choice depends on your specific requirements, budget, and use case.
How does Flux 1.1 Pro pricing compare to FLUX.1 Schnell?
Flux 1.1 Pro charges $0.04/img per 1M input tokens and an undisclosed amount per 1M output tokens. FLUX.1 Schnell charges Free (open) per 1M input tokens and Free (open) per 1M output tokens. For high-volume production workloads, the pricing difference can significantly impact total cost of ownership.
What is the context window difference between Flux 1.1 Pro and FLUX.1 Schnell?
Flux 1.1 Pro supports a undisclosed token context window, while FLUX.1 Schnell supports N/A (image) tokens. Context window size matters most for tasks involving long documents, large codebases, or extended conversations.
Can I use Flux 1.1 Pro or FLUX.1 Schnell for free?
Flux 1.1 Pro is a paid API model starting at $0.04/img per 1M input tokens. FLUX.1 Schnell is a paid API model starting at Free (open) per 1M input tokens. Open-source models can be self-hosted for free but require your own GPU infrastructure.
Which model has better benchmarks, Flux 1.1 Pro or FLUX.1 Schnell?
Flux 1.1 Pro's arena rank is not yet available, while FLUX.1 Schnell's rank is not yet available. Note that benchmarks don't capture every use case — we recommend testing both models on your specific tasks.
Is Flux 1.1 Pro or FLUX.1 Schnell better for coding?
Flux 1.1 Pro's primary strength is image generation, design. FLUX.1 Schnell's primary strength is fast image generation, prototyping, development. For coding specifically, arena rank and code-specific benchmarks are the best indicators of performance.